Border query lands man in jail

SAN YSIDRO  A man attempting to enter the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry Wednesday had a surprising response as to why he did not have border-crossing documentation, and his answer landed him in jail.

Edgar Salazar Rios, 19, told U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers that he had lost his documents when he was a passenger in a stolen vehicle that had crashed just across the border a week ago, said Chula Vista police Lt. Fritz Reber. The serious-injury crash involved a Chevrolet Silverado pickup that was being pursued by Chula Vista police.

Rios, of Delhi in central California, was taken into custody about 4:20 p.m. and later booked into jail on charges of possession of a stolen vehicle and conspiracy to commit auto theft, Reber said.

The arrest was made by a Chula Vista police officer who had been involved in the Dec. 30 pursuit who was on duty Wednesday, Reber said.

The chase began about 10 p.m. when a woman called Chula Vista police to report that her husband was in a vehicle and was chasing two men who had just stolen their pickup. Officers chased the pickup on southbound Interstate 805 from Olympic Parkway to the border.

As the pickup sped across the border, Mexican authorities tossed a spike strip that punctured its tires. The driver lost control and the pickup crashed.

The Chula Vista officers stopped at the border and did not enter Mexico.